Eric Foner, 2015 March 23 Box 1
- Highlight
- change. Foner describes the crises of the 1990s—including labor disputes, the Iraq war, and the
- Abstract Or Scope
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In this interview, Eric Foner describes his experience at Columbia University, first as a student and later as a faculty member. He begins with a description of Columbia at the time of his undergraduate and graduate years, from 1959 to 1969. Foner discusses the state of the history department during this period. After his return to Columbia in 1982, Foner describes the arrival of Professor Elizabeth Blackmar, the first female history professor at Columbia. Foner recalls early conversations with Blackmar regarding the integration of women's studies into the history curriculum and names Blackmar as the crucial connection between history and IRWGS. Foner locates these goals within a larger shift at Columbia, citing the inclusion of female undergraduates in 1983. Foner continues to see institutes such as IRWGS, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Institute for Research in African-American Studies as crucial agents in diversifying Columbia's intellectual community.